Feta, spinach, beetroot, herbs, leeks and the best smoked salmon ever...
The arrival of my birthday in a week or so heralded a weekend of lunches with my parents (although my family is a little complicated so not as straight forward as this first suggests). As I was at work all week with no time for a proper shop I had to resort to what was in the house with one or two small luxuries bought in a spare few minutes on Friday between meetings. Having no bread but a tub of buttermilk lurking in the fridge I decided to knock up a quick soda bread, which with no kneading involved or time sitting proving (which takes ages in my old and cold house) can be made in well under an hour. I used half wholemeal spelt and half white spelt flour with added seeds.
With this I planned on serving a beetroot and spinach salad with some smoked salmon, however, my foodie Mum arrived bearing the gift of half a Greek style feta and spinach pie with filo pastry, yum!
Warmed in the oven so that the filo was nice and crispy, this was a delight, scented with garlic and studded with feta. I was hoping that with half a pie, there may be some for lunch for the following week, however, it should be no surprise to hear that every crumb was devoured. Rather than making an additional spinach salad I decided to bake the beetroot whole inspired by a Nigel Slater recipe found online. I drizzled the whole beet with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little water and baked them at 200 degrees in a foil parcel for 40 minutes whilst the soda bread was cooking. Once cooked I spooned some homemade raspberry vinegar over the beet letting them sit a while to soak up the flavours before quartering them and adding some halved cornichons and chopped chives. This was served with some natural yoghurt seasoned with salt and pepper to add at the table.
The smoked salmon was some I bought on Friday from Hansen & Lydersen, who had a stall at the Real Food Market on the South Bank. I only bought 100g but the fact there is no photo speaks for itself. Wow, what can I say, this was easily the best, most glorious smoked salmon I have ever eaten (and I've eaten a lot of smoked fish). I can honestly say I don't want to eat any other again. Get some, it really is that good.
On Sunday, my Dad arrived bearing gifts of potted herbs (sage, a couple of different mints, curly parsley and chives) and a large pot of his last leeks from the allotment.
I never say 'no' to free food and especially anything homegrown. I'll be investigating new recipes for leeks so watch out for leek inspired posts in the coming weeks! Another lovely simple and homely lunch was enjoyed at our table. Soda bread, Comte and Wensleydale cheese, salami, left over beetroot, tomatoes and rhubarb chutney from my last foodie penpal parcel followed by fruity tea loaf and mugs of tea. Sometimes the simplest of meals are the best.
With this I planned on serving a beetroot and spinach salad with some smoked salmon, however, my foodie Mum arrived bearing the gift of half a Greek style feta and spinach pie with filo pastry, yum!
Warmed in the oven so that the filo was nice and crispy, this was a delight, scented with garlic and studded with feta. I was hoping that with half a pie, there may be some for lunch for the following week, however, it should be no surprise to hear that every crumb was devoured. Rather than making an additional spinach salad I decided to bake the beetroot whole inspired by a Nigel Slater recipe found online. I drizzled the whole beet with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little water and baked them at 200 degrees in a foil parcel for 40 minutes whilst the soda bread was cooking. Once cooked I spooned some homemade raspberry vinegar over the beet letting them sit a while to soak up the flavours before quartering them and adding some halved cornichons and chopped chives. This was served with some natural yoghurt seasoned with salt and pepper to add at the table.
The smoked salmon was some I bought on Friday from Hansen & Lydersen, who had a stall at the Real Food Market on the South Bank. I only bought 100g but the fact there is no photo speaks for itself. Wow, what can I say, this was easily the best, most glorious smoked salmon I have ever eaten (and I've eaten a lot of smoked fish). I can honestly say I don't want to eat any other again. Get some, it really is that good.
On Sunday, my Dad arrived bearing gifts of potted herbs (sage, a couple of different mints, curly parsley and chives) and a large pot of his last leeks from the allotment.
I never say 'no' to free food and especially anything homegrown. I'll be investigating new recipes for leeks so watch out for leek inspired posts in the coming weeks! Another lovely simple and homely lunch was enjoyed at our table. Soda bread, Comte and Wensleydale cheese, salami, left over beetroot, tomatoes and rhubarb chutney from my last foodie penpal parcel followed by fruity tea loaf and mugs of tea. Sometimes the simplest of meals are the best.
Great treat fest x
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